insert awesome title here.

Her steps echoing throughout the hall, Irene turned a small corner and headed straight for an old wooden door, to which she quietly opened and slipped into the room inside; closing it behind her. The blonde said nothing and ran a few fingers through her hair. It was some time around midnight. All of the students were probably asleep in their dorms and the entire campus was quiet. She couldn't sleep. There were quite a few things bothering her. Such as the large amount of students they had already, and the growing amount that seemed to be more and more rebellious, the growing number that would have be "examined" early. Murder. When you stripped everything down to the bone, that's all that they were committing. Sadly, thoughts that followed her around everyday, nothing new to her. She almost wished she had someone to confide in. She was strictly professional with the other guardians. There was no point in getting close with any of the students. All her family and friends were cut off, miles away off with their own life.
The guardian took a seat at the end of the most amazing couch alive, resting her cheek on her fist. She let out a silent sigh and glanced with half-a-mind at the wall and the paintings, her green gaze eventually trailing to the window. It was really peaceful all together aside from the storm in her thoughts.

Lets get one thing straight- he was not following her.
Desken had seen been sleeping, but stirred at the sound of Irene's footsteps exiting the dorm and the shut of a door. He worried for a moment, before attempting to fall back asleep, but it never came. So instead, the wind guardian stood up. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed as he stood. He didn't want to be nosy, but he couldn't help setting off to find his fellow guardian. She seemed... off. Like something was bothering her. That surprised him, since she rarely showed any emotion aside from annoyance.
He followed after her with silent, swift steps and just turned the corner to see the door shut behind her. Desken made it to the door and stopped. He didn't want to agitate Irene, but curiosity got the best of him and he quietly opened the door to the lounge and slid inside. Shutting it behind him quietly, he looked over at Irene, a thoughtful look on his face as he saw the raw emotion on her own. He stood there for a moment, not saying anything, as if waiting for her to notice him first.

Stuck in her own thoughts, she shifted around uncomfortably. Why did she go along with all this? She certainly did owe a lot of things to the headmaster, but... Irene felt her eyes start to water ever so slightly, but she quickly regained herself, forcing it all away. The young woman certainly wasn't the type to sit around and feel sorry for herself, much less cry about it, even while no one was looking. She didn't want even see herself caught in the act. It was a weak trait, and she was far stronger than that. Although, in the back of her mind she figured it might be nice to just sit there and spill her emotions out, that wasn't the way she was raised; stone-hearted. She'd live on.
Irene's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door open. She was rather confused on who it was at first; wondering if it was a student stupid enough to try and sneak out of bed. When she had left the dorm, everyone else had been asleep. Her emerald gaze stared the shape down in the dim light, not recognizing him until the door had closed once again. "Desken," she muttered, her eyes slitting. He followed her? The blonde brushed a few stray hairs out of her face, "What are you doing here?"

Desken smirked and leaned against the door, but his head spun a little. He had seen her tear up- he knew that he did, and it shocked him. He was a little surprised that he hadn't seen her like this before- I mean, come on. They shared a dorm and worked together for God's sake. But she was strictly business during these times.
He saw the slit of her eyes, and his grin grew. Because honestly, at times it was simply fun to miss with her. "Irene." He responded back casually. "Oh you know. Just hunting elephants in the middle of the night, as always. But what about you?" He questioned, refusing the believe he followed her here. It just didn't happen. He was simply walking the same way. Alright?

Right. Okay, we're just going to assume he just happened to walk down the same hallway and go into the same door with her and just happened to stay there with little idea he'd run into her. Seems legit. |D /shot.
The guardian scoffed and flicked her gaze back twords the window irritably as she saw his grin grow wider. "I thought you were out cold," she said simply, ignoring his smart ass remark. She kept her body faced away Desken, every inch of her showing she wasn't comfortable with him being here. "I couldn't sleep." Irene answered him, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter anyways. Just get out of here." The young woman couldn't exactly force him to leave, not without making a big scene anyways, but she hoped he'd just take the memo go back to the dorm.

Desken shrugged and restlessly moved from the door. He walked around the room a moment as he spoke, "I couldn't sleep either." He lied, knowing very well that he was in fact out cold. "Though, I might add that you weren't the quietest." That part, at least, was true.
He stopped abruptly and turned to face the grass type guardian. Desken? Getting the memo? You make me laugh. "What's got you down in the dumps?" He asked calmly, although there was a hint of concern in his voice. He ignored her sharp comment altogether, in fact doing the opposite and moving quickly and gracefully on to the seat on the couch by her.

The earth guardian rolled her eyes. "You were snoring," she told him, leading up to her retort. "And I wasn't aware that I had to sneak around my own school just to get some privacy." She avoided him still as he started circling around the room, flicking her attention downward and focusing on her nails, fiddling around with them.
Irene sighed, watching him passively glide across the room. Damn, twinkle-toed wind guardian. "I don't see why you would care." she answered back stubbornly, still keeping away from him, she almost grimaced when he took the seat next to her. Though, as she sat there, the thought did occur to her. If she did want to talk, not saying she did, but if... He'd probably to be the best one to talk with. She was long from her old home, not like they'd understand anyways; Maggie and Alex wouldn't do. One was too fragile and oblivious in her own strange way and the other was simply a jackass. Irene glanced down and bit her lip. Still, she was unwilling to talk.

Desken bit his bottom lip. Had he been snoring? Did he snore? Well, shit. "Alright, so you woke me up. Sue me." He shot back with a roll of his amber brown eyes. He laughed and leaned back on the couch. "With that logic, it's my school too." So we can just have privacy.. together. ;D *shot*
He suddenly grew serious and he turned to face her. "Why wouldn't I care?" He retorted earnestly. "If something's on your mind, then you should tell somebody. I won't judge you, I promise." He said hopefully, completely honest about it. He wanted to know what was on her mind, if it was simply out of curiosity. He had a lot on his mind too, and it was pretty much Irene's worries, although he wasn't aware. Desken's thoughts had been wandering to the students and their fates the last couple of days. He didn't really want to think about it, but he couldn't help feeling guilty. Even though he knew it was his job, he sometimes questioned the point of this school in the first place. It had been great at the beginning, but after a couple of years... It just didn't feel right.

The young woman said nothing, a little petty in her the satisfaction he admitted he was wrong, but didn't answer too the subject any longer. "Okay, fine. I just thought a little privacy wasn't too much to expect?" she finished, rubbing her arms as she stared off in the other direction, feeling his gaze burn into her. nopeshe'sforeveralone.;w;
At Desken's question she finally turned her head to face him again, uncertainty clear across her face. "Why wouldn't you?" she frowned, "Because you and I are nothing. We're not friends or anything like that. We just do the same things and serve the same person. There's no reason for you to care." Irene stared him down a few moments longer, jumbled up emotions hidden in her eyes before she broke away. "And any way, of course you'll judge me, it's only human nature." If she had a choice, she'd rather seem fearless and be one hell of a leader than ruled by her emotions and second rate. Anything admitted could ruin her appearance.

Desken listened to her words thoughtfully, not letting any emotion aside from amusement appear on his face. He didn't bother replying to her first comment, to focused on what else she had to say.

Truthfully, it hurt him. Her words were a blunt stab at him, but he knew that they were true, and it was how she really felt. He didn't know why he ever felt any different- and what did he feel? He was simply being nice, right? Desken truly cared for others, and Irene was so hidden away that... he wanted to draw her out of her comfort zone. What was the real Irene thinking? Because he knew that everyone had a breaking point and something on their mind they were desperate to share. Irene may be fearless and one hell of a leader, but that didn't mean she couldn't have emotions, or confide in someone every once in a while. So it toke him a while to speak, and his words were chosen carefully.
"Irene... I do care. I don't care if we just work together or are simply acquaintances, alright? We could be friends, you know. If you'd only try a little." He said, a surprising intensity in his voice, that contradicted with his lax nature. "And," He added slowly, his gaze catching her's. "In case you haven't noticed, we aren't exactly human. I'm not a big fan of judging." And it was true.

She couldn't help but bite her lip and shake her head in confusion, staring away at the wall. It still didn't give her any reassurance, still leaving her wondering; why did he bother to care? He wasn't one to really care about anything in particular? What made him insist on pushing this? Just... "Why?" she looked back up to him and then down at her hands again, honestly caught off by the passion in his tone. As far as she knew he was hardly passionate about... well... anything. Irene frowned and moved on with her words. "I don't need to try. I'm just fine on my own." The guardian couldn't help but be a little technical with his statement; they had all the physicals attributes and what-not. No other living person in her family had the same gift as she did, it was just a tweak in the dNA. Irene sighed, knowing that it wasn't the point and unable to think of some stupid remark to say back to him that wasn't petty.
Instead, she glanced back up and got caught in his hazel eyes. Irene wondered for a moment. Why did she believe him?

Desken's gaze grew more gentle, and when he spoke again, it was in a softer tune. "Because I like you, Irene." Sure, he meant it in strictly a friendly way, but... He wondered for a moment the severity of those words, and how'd she react. But it wasn't the biggest thing on his mind as he went on. "And I don't see the point in you bottling up your emotions." He said in a calm, quiet voice, though the look in his eyes were still just as strong.
He leaned forward a little, not anywhere to close to Irene, but a little. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at her, as if it was the first time he'd really seen her.
The cute, choppy cut of her light blonde hair. The bright green eyes, that almost seemed unnatural. Now that he thought about it, she was a very pretty girl. But if he said that to her, he could expect getting his ass kicked and more than likely mounted over her fire place. "Try anyway." He breathed. "Because I don't believe that."

She really almost flinched at his words, only because this seemed quite random to her, out of nowhere. Irene took the words exactly as he had meant them, but that didn't have any less of an impact on her. "I don't..." her voice trailed off as she shook her head. No, he didn't. He was just saying so for whatever reason. She had never exactly been friendly with him, so...? "Just go away." she whispered, though it was still louder than the dead of night. She wasn't keeping any emotion inside, to her at least, she was dismissing them. They weren't allowed in at all. And as far as she was concerned, he was not helping matters, just sitting here.
The young woman froze and looked away as he leaned in closer. She was completely unsure of what to say at that moment. There was a small part of her that did want to try, but was shoved back by her complete will and stubborness. Staying silent for a few moments longer, she tried to reason with herself. Perhaps if she told him just a little, there would be no reason for him to stay any longer. Yes, that'd work. "I -" she could only utter the small word before choking up. No, she couldn't do this.

Desken didn't flinch at her words, and instead smiled in amusement. "Are you sure?" He questioned. He meant, Are you sure you don't like me? Are you sure you don't want to share what's on your mind? Are you sure you want me to go away?
Admittedly, it irked him how bottled up she was, but that only meant he would have to press harder to get into that mind of hers. He knew that he wasn't going to go away yet, and just hoped that he wouldn't be the one to scare her off. It would take time, but he just had to get her to open up to him. To at least somebody.
Whenever she choked up, it surprised him a little. He didn't exactly expect breaking through the barricade. Stupid Desken. His eyes grew gentle, concerned, and he almost reached out and touched her. Nope, bad idea. ".. Irene? It's okay." He assured her in a worried voice.

Irene looked just a little irritated, his smile near telling her that he was taking lightly when she was dead serious; you'd think it'd be something that she was used to by now. She rubbed her bare arms passively; unable to say 'yes', too proud to say 'no'.
Instead, she stayed quiet for a bit long, starting to bite down on her finger as if it were a bullet. She seemed to be caught up in her own careful and erratic thoughts, only being distracted when Desken had started to reach out to touch her, to which he was only met with a cold look. 'Don't even think about it.' The threat had shouted in her head, but she thought the message was clear enough. She was seriously contemplating just getting up and walking away at this point, back to the dorm room at least, but something about the worry in his voice kept her there; she hated it.
"I just -" she forced herself to try again, only to stop again. God, why was this so much more difficult then it should've been? She gazed up and caught his look again for a moment, not taking long to distract herself. Irene let out a small silent sigh. Okay, something. Anything. "I'm turning sixteen." Well, it was a start. She was, very soon actually, on the fifteenth. Although it probably didn't seem like a big confession, it actually was to her, for more than one reason; even finding it's way into the big picture.
Quietly, she ran her fingers through her bangs, absently waiting for any reaction from him; hoping a little that there would be none.

Desken tried to hold back a triumphant grin when she didn't order him to leave. He would have left if she asked, but that didn't mean he wanted to at the moment. And that also didn't mean he wouldn't argue.
Oh yes, the message had been clear. He felt pretty stupid for even trying something like that on instinct- sure, anybody else would probably have taken it, but this was Irene we were talking about. After that, Desken drew his hand back in defeat, though that spark of amusement in his eyes had yet to leave. Because he didn't have to. He stayed silent as she thought about it. He knew it was hard for the Guardian to come up with anything to say, and smiled softly when she finally did, though it toke him by surprise a bit. "That's great. When? Happy birthday, I suppose." He said with a tentative smile.

OOC: My post is small but mighty. Fear it. Fear eeeet. >3> It's like that midget that comes up and punches you in the knees before running off with your wallet. Yeah, my post is that midget.

ooc;; *cowers in fear* lolno. Good post is good. Cx bic;;

She stayed quiet and folded her neatly in her lap, staring aeay at the moment. Whether he'd actually go or not never really ceossed her mind; she just sorta, kinda glad for his company, not that she'd ever say it, and that was that. "Not really," she muttered, hardly finding it 'great' at all. "So many stupid thing I'm supposed to have done, but all I've become is a-" She started to ramble on, bht caught berself and shook her head. Surely, out of all the people in the school, he'd know what she was getting at.
Irene quickly caught herself slipping and tried to straighten back up, but it wasn't working. Her expression came out to that of a miserable one.

There. We're getting somewhere now. Even if it meant Irene was miserable for the moment, pain was just a way of healing. It toke Desken a second to understand what she meant, but whenever he did he instantly related. Neither of them had a chance to be actual teenagers. Either they were freaks, training, or working at the school. They never got the chance to grow up and do things normal teenagers did.
The misery on her face honestly surprised Des, but he didn't skip a beat. Not taking the risk of getting close to her he leaned his head back, nodding slowly. "I know, I know. I understand. He replied softly. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think there's anything wrong with what you have become..." He offered tentatively, giving her a slight smile.

She wasn't sure if he understood completely. For the small periods of time the guardians were allowed to leave every year, most of it was spent trainimg with her great-grandmother, trying her absolute best to please her family. She hardly had anytime to herself and was always encouraged to look at herself as more of a Goddess than freak. No, Irene had hardly had a childhood, let alone her a normal teenage life. She had no idea how it had been, or was at the moment for the wind guardian, though.

The blonde bit her lip, "You do?" She shook her head and shut her eyes for a few moments, caught im disbelief. "Desken..." she looked back up at him now, her sharp green gaze questioning. "Every person that comes to this school is going to die. We're the ones leading them too it. Are you really okay with that?" This wasn't just her, either. And she had,seen him, going around and making friends with some of the students. How could he stand that?

Irene stayed quiet for a few moments longer. He didn't have to answer that, she didn't expect him too. In fact, she was ashamed she ever even blurted out; and yet she still failed to notice the small drops running down the side of her face. Her body was shaking ever-so-slightly. Still, she struggled to keep her composure. "I want go stay out all night and have fun. I want to be with my friends and go running; have my first kiss and laugh about it later. Do a bunch of stupid things and not have to think twice about it." Having had to be so orderly her entire life, even the prospect of the smallest rebellion gave a strange glow to her eyes, the inner her deep down just starting to peak through. If only ever once, and if no one else had found out.

asdf. Sorry. I didn't mean to make it so long. xD yours doesnt have to be like dis. Iz okey. I dun got carried away.

OOC: It's fine. xD Your post is amazing. ;u; I shall try and come close.

IC:
"Every person that comes to this school is going to die. We're the ones leading them too it. Are you really okay with that?"

Desken was completely taken aback by this, and couldn't do anything but stare at her for a long moment. Was he okay with it? Of course not. It tore him up inside everyday just thinking that a bunch of innocent children would be stripped of what made them special and killed for it. He felt like he was preparing them for slaughter, like animals. Was he okay with that? For the longest time he was, but the last couple of days he had been doubting everything. He felt horrible that he hadn't seen a problem with it before, completely guilty. So was he okay with it? Absolutely not.
"Okay with watching these kids die, some that I've befriended?" He murmured, closing his eyes, a hurt expression on his face that was rare for the laid back wind guardian. "This school is a feedlot and a slaughterhouse in one, killing people for no reason other than a lust for power." That sentence was sharp and pointed, a small amount of hatred for the Headmaster bubbling up inside of him. Of course, his thoughts were interrupted as he opened his eyes and glanced over at Irene. Was she... crying? Something he'd never expect to see her do, and for some reason, it hurt him more than anything.

He turned to his side to face her, his expression going from miserable to serious and caring in a matter of moments. "Irene," He began, reaching his hand towards her and this time not pulling away as he wiped a tear from her cheek. "You can still do all of this. There's still plenty of time for you." He told her, surprised by the spark in her eyes. If he hadn't been so serious, and different from his normal flirty self, Desken would have thrown in something along the lines of, You know, I could help you with that kiss. But he was to focused on her for jokes. "You don't always have to be so serious, you know. It wouldn't hurt to do something stupid and crazy every now and then."

She looked away uncomfortably as he stared at her. He was obviously weighing the question in his thoughts. Why did he seemed so surprised? This is what they did everyday, surely it must have crossed him before. Irene rubbed her arm. It was why she never particularly tried to get close to any of the students. What was the point?
It was far easier to look down on them, do the job, and try to move on... Rather than get close to them and risk losing a few you cared about. She always left that duty to the other guardians.

It honestly amazed her how serious he was all of a sudden, especially the anger that was laced in his voice. Just another strange aspect of Desken she had never seen before. They both didn't seem to be all in the norm, really. She absently brushed a few stray hairs out of her face. "You're right." More than right. That was the perfect way of putting it. "So, why do you do it?" Why did they all do it? She looked up at him, searching for any sign of the anger she had heard, but softening a bit when all she could find was remorse.

Shaking her head, she hardly had a moment to disagree with home; looking as if what he had just said was nothing more than a joke. "No..." she muttered, letting out a harsh flinch when he touched her. She had been rather lost at that moment and it had taken a bit to react. Hardly realizing it, she was leaning gently into his hand before finally snapping out of it. Irene lashed out her hand, grabbinghis and slamming it down on the cushion. In the blink of an eye, ivy was wrapping tightly around his arm and his neck. She was crying, and he - just - She looked furious, though more-so with herself.

"So, why do you do it?"

Another good question, Irene. Though, it was one he honestly had no answer to. Well Desken, why do you do it? Maybe because he never actually thought about leaving. I mean, could he in the first place? Would the Headmaster just allow him to walk out with the information he possessed? And to be honest, Desken enjoyed being able to train, being able to be the boss of everyone and have complete power. But not at this cost. He just... never thought about not putting up with it.
As soon as she flinched away, Desken knew it was a mistake getting close to her. But then he felt her lean into his palm, and almost smiled. He'd never expect her to do that. What Irene did next, on the other hand, didn't surprise him. In fact, he had expected that from her. Des let her throw his hand into the cushion, and fought the instinct to fight back as the vines tightened around his arm and his neck, the latter making it somewhat hard to breath.
Desken gave her a rueful, understanding look. He instantly felt horrible for touching her, but... The furious look she gave him didn't seem to have an effect on him, though it killed him inside.
For a second, he wondered if she felt the electric like tension between them right now... or was it just him?

No. When it came down to it, there was no way they could pack their things and move on with their lives. It wasn't only because of what the four of them knew, but how valuable they were to the headmaster. They were prisoners just like the rest of the school, the only difference being that they held authority zand were able to do a lot of the dirty work. They didn't have a death sentence hanging constantly over their heads.
Irene shook her head at his silence, "I'm sorry." she told him. Just talking about this was dangerous. Yet another reason to turn a blind eye. These thoughts were dangerous. If they ever came to mind afound ghe headmaster for only a moment... It just couldn't happen.

She stared him down for a few moments longer, her emerald giving a clear way to her complete confusion. If it wasn't obvious enough, she was unraveling at the seams, and she really had no idea what to do. He wasn't the only one too feel the current. She hadn't the slighest idea of what it was, though, nor a clue of how to think of it. Her nails dug into his skin and the grip of the ivy tightened dangerously for a moment before she simply... gave up.
She couldn't do this. One more thing to be confused about, but completely true. Not here, not right now. The vines simply fell off of Desken and her grip on his hand loosened. Her defenses fallen down, she stared quietly at the space between them.

"It's fine." He said immediately, with a gently shake of his head as he looked away from her and out the window. "Do we have a choice?" He finally questioned softly, not expecting or looking for an answer. He knew the dangers of thinking like this. Any thought of uncertainty could mean trouble for them... But that didn't mean he wouldn't be loyal, right? ... Right?
He wasn't sure anymore.

Des stared back at her, easily spotting the confusion in her gaze and wondering what she was thinking.
He could see the civil war going on inside her mind through that gaze, and questioned what side was winning... He really hoped she felt that buzz between them right then, and it wasn't simply him not quite understanding it. He gritted his teeth as she dug her fingers into the back of his hand, and felt his fear rising as the ivy tightened around his neck as Irene's anger rose... Before he saw it vanish completely from her. He saw the white flag in her eyes, written on her face. And the vine's grip loosened and fell off of him. For a moment, he didn't speak. Desken pulled off the vines slowly, not looking away from Irene for a moment.
He was scared to touch her, considering what just went down, but stupid Desken came back for more as he slowly toke his hand out from under her own and placed his on top of her hand softly. "Irene..." He began, thinking for a moment what to say, uncertain. "I'd tell you it's okay, but I'm not gonna lie. I hate this as much as you do, believe me. But right now, I don't know what we can do." He said, his own voice cracking slightly. He Began to pull his hand away from her, waiting for an attack.

She didn't bother to try an answer the question. To her, at least, it was fairly obvious. And still, they had to be loysl to the headmaster, because what else could they honestly do? She knew, though, that no matter how much she loathed the entire hidden prospect of Beata, she'd serve him until her debt was paid... Or until she took her last dying breath. There wasn't a choice for that either, not for her.

She hardly noticed his gaze fall on her as the silence passed by, but gasped silently as his hand slipped on top of hers. The unfamiliar sparks danced where he touched. "Nothing?" she offered as an answer, sounding strangely defeated. She didn't react past that, taking the gesture as a small bit of comfort. Why? At this point, she was honestly just not giving a care at the moment. She was tired of being alone. She tried to tell herself as long as no one found out, it'd be okay, right?

When he withdrew, she felt the smallest bit of panic. "Don't." she said quietly, but quickly. Irene reached out and grabbed his hand, much more gently this time around. She glanced up at Desken, unable to say much more. "It's ok-..." The young woman choked on the words.